


something borrowed, something blue

by rudelove



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: 3 + 1, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 19:05:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6389449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudelove/pseuds/rudelove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Looking back at it, maybe Hoseok’s plan to propose to Kihyun has been twenty years in the making.</p>
            </blockquote>





	something borrowed, something blue

**Author's Note:**

> **or** ; three times wonho asks kihyun to marry him as a joke and the one time he means it.

The first time, they are eight years old and it’s play pretend.

Kihyun’s cousins come for a visit one weekend and decide it would be fun to marry the two of them in Kihyun’s back yard. They make flower crowns out of daisies and dress them up like they are their own life-sized Barbie and Ken dolls, making sure they look absolutely perfect for the ceremony.

There are flower petals forming a lopsided heart under the old cherry tree where Hoseok gets down on one knee for the official proposal, offers Kihyun a lollipop ring and asks him, “Kihyunnie, will you marry me?” Kihyun wrinkles his little nose uncertainly but nods anyway and lets Hoseok slip the ring onto his finger as Kihyun’s cousins cheer gleefully in the back.

They barely make it halfway through the wedding ceremony before Kihyun takes a bite of his ring and cracks it in half, only seconds after they’ve vowed to be together forever. Hoseok cries, heartbroken, kicks Kihyun in the shin and runs back home, doesn’t talk to him for three days, the longest they’ll ever spend not talking to each other.

 

 

Hoseok is sick—like he always is—feeling all fuzzy and loopy during the two days it takes for Kihyun to come back from his trip and bring him chicken soup and medicine, to temporarily move into his dorm room until Hoseok is feeling better again.

Kihyun is caring and gentle, nicer than he is when Hoseok is feeling well, and Hoseok takes advantage of the situation while he can, asks Kihyun to buy him food from his favorite restaurant off campus, to fluff the pillows and make sure he is tucked nicely in his blankets like a burrito. Kihyun complains and grumbles under his breath the entire time, but obliges anyway, caters to every one of Hoseok’s ridiculous needs. He acts like he’s annoyed, but the smile on his face—the one he thinks Hoseok can’t see—is fond and sweet.

“What would I ever do without you?” Hoseok sighs, feeling awfully content even though his throat is still burning from the cough syrup Kihyun had forcefully spooned into his mouth earlier.

“Probably die.” Kihyun says matter-of-factly as he finishes tidying up around Hoseok’s room, throwing away the used tissues littering the floor into the bin next to Hoseok’s bed.

“Don’t be a jerk.” Hoseok whines. “You should be nicer to people when they’re sick.”

“I am nice. That’s why I said ‘probably’ instead of ‘most definitely’.” Kihyun says, giving Hoseok a toothy smile, eyes sparkling mischievously.

“You’re lucky I can’t move right now,” Hoseok huffs, lowering his voice before he continues. “Would’ve kicked you out right away.”

“Do you think I enjoy having your snot all over me?” Kihyun asks with a quirked brow, like he’s challenging Hoseok to complain some more. He settles down next to Hoseok, pulling the covers over both of them. “I have a life, you know.”

“Uh-huh.” Hoseok hums under his breath. “Then why are you still here? You’re gonna end up getting sick.” He says, emphasizing the last part with a loud cough, but scoots over when Kihyun throws an arm over his shoulders and pulls him in so Hoseok could be nestled safely at his side.

“Because you turn into a little baby when you’re sick and no one else can put up with your constant whining? I wasn’t kidding when I said you would die without me.” Kihyun points out. “Who else is going to take care of you if not me?”

“No one,” Hoseok says, letting his eyes flutter shut. “That’s why you’ll have to get married to me one day. Or adopt me. Whichever you prefer.”

“I’m not ready to be a parent yet,” Kihyun says, and his voice is quiet now, light and airy, like a distant echo that’s drifting further away, one Hoseok can’t quite hold on to. “I guess I’ll just have to marry you instead.”

Hoseok smiles in return, quickly starting to doze off.

 

He dreams of fields of daisies, the gentle press of Kihyun’s lips on his forehead, Kihyun’s hands on his face. He feels lightheaded when he wakes up, but his heart feels heavier than ever. 

 

 

 

Hoseok is drunk the third time he asks Kihyun to marry him.

They are on a mission to get pissed drunk because according to Kihyun, that’s the best way to get over a bad breakup, and after finding out that his boyfriend of eight months has been cheating on him all along, who is Hoseok to argue with Kihyun’s logic?

Besides, Kihyun has always been the smarter one between them.

“I’m never going to love again.” Hoseok whines as he opens another bottle of beer.

“You loved him?” Kihyun snorts. “I thought you only liked him ‘cause he had a nice dick.”

Hoseok throws the cap at Kihyun’s head, tells him to fuck off. He sighs, shaking his head. “I don’t know, but how am I supposed to trust anyone after this?” He fiddles with the label on his bottle, scratches at the edge with his nail. “I’m gonna die alone.”

“Oh, come on,” Kihyun groans loudly. “Someone cheats on you one time and you are determined to spend the rest of your life being alone and miserable? That guy was an asshole, anyway. Screw him.”

“First of all, he didn’t cheat on me _once_ ,” Hoseok starts, holding up a finger. “He cheated on me the entire time we were together, and I only found out yesterday when I caught him sucking that guy’s dick. And second, I already went to the animal shelter this morning and adopted a kitten. Gonna pick her up tomorrow, so no, I won’t be spending the rest of my life alone.”

“Without asking me about it first? I live here too, you know?” Kihyun huffs, kicking at Hoseok’s ankle. Hoseok whines louder than necessary and lies down to rest his head on Kihyun’s lap, looks up at him with a pout he knows will surely melt Kihyun’s heart. “Fine,” Kihyun sighs seconds later, giving up. “As long as it doesn’t pee in my room.”

Hoseok laughs at that, makes a mental note to keep the cat away from Kihyun’s stuff. “Anyway,” he changes the subject, pulling at Kihyun’s shirt so he would get his full attention. “Dude, will you marry me?”

Kihyun tilts his head to the side, looking awfully amused by Hoseok’s sudden question. “I thought you wanted to die alone?”

“Don’t be such a dick,” Hoseok pinches at Kihyun’s stomach. “You know those pacts people make with their best friends about marrying each other if they are like, forty and still single? Like, for backup?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then, Kihyunnie, will you marry me if we’re both single by the time we’re forty?” Hoseok asks, taking Kihyun’s hand in his.

“I probably won’t be single because I’m a catch, but sure. Okay.” Kihyun shrugs casually. “But only if you buy me a ring.”

“Anything you want, baby.” Hoseok laughs and winks cheekily, shakes Kihyun’s hand to seal the deal. 

Kihyun grins at him, cheeks dimpling, and Hoseok swallows hard around the lump in his throat.

 

 

 

Looking back at it, maybe Hoseok’s plan to propose to Kihyun has been twenty years in the making.

 

“So when do you plan on asking him?” Minhyuk asks, practically bouncing up and down in his seat excitedly upon hearing the news that Hoseok wants to propose to Kihyun.

“If I don’t chicken out _again_ , then tonight.” Hoseok sighs. “I tried to do it this morning but I just couldn’t get the words out of my mouth. It’s so frustrating.”

All of his other attempts to propose to Kihyun have failed miserably. He tried to do it over dinner the other night, planned to order a glass of champagne and put the ring in it but chickened out when he thought about the possibility of Kihyun choking on it. Put it on top of the stack of pancakes he made for breakfast last week, but took it back before Kihyun had a chance to see it. One time, he almost blurted it out during sex, but that’s not exactly the type of story you tell to people when they ask about how you got engaged. 

Minhyuk pouts sadly, finally calming down. “But it’s easy. You just ask ‘would you marry me?’ and put the ring on his finger. That’s it, you’re done in two seconds.”

“That’s exactly what I thought it would be like. But I’ve been under so much stress lately that I swear my hair is starting to fall out.” Hoseok says and rubs at his face with his hands. “It’s so nerve-racking.”

He has an entire speech prepared, keeps running it in his head over and over so it sounds perfect when he finally gathers the courage to do it. He bought two rings that he carries with him everywhere he goes, tucked safely in his pockets, just in case; one as a joke, the same type he gave to Kihyun when they were eight years old, the other silver, thin and simple with their initials engraved on the inside.

Technically, Hoseok has done this before on multiple occasions, but this time it’s real and there’s this voice at the back of his head that’s telling him that Kihyun is going to say no, dump him and crush his heart like he’d done with that lollipop on their fake wedding day.

Maybe he’s paranoid, overthinking something that should be so easy and simple to do, or maybe he’s not. Maybe their relationship isn’t at that level yet even though they’ve known each other their entire lives. They’ve been through so much together, but what if that’s not enough?

Hoseok isn’t ready to face that yet.

“It’s going to happen naturally,” Hyunwoo says, patting him on the back reassuringly. “And Kihyun is going to say ‘yes’. You’ll see.”

Hoseok smiles nervously and secretly wishes that Hyunwoo is right.

 

 

It happens exactly a week later.

 

 

There are no flowers, no fancy, romantic dinner and a bottle of Kihyun’s favorite wine, and Hoseok only has the candy ring with him; it’s just the two of them with a bag of groceries on a parking lot behind a random supermarket, and Hoseok is kneeling into a puddle of something that’s definitely not water.

One moment, Kihyun is talking about their cat and how they should buy her a new collar, and the next there’s Hoseok getting down on one knee, tugging at the back of Kihyun’s shirt so he would stop walking, because this is it; _this_ is the moment when he asks Kihyun to marry him.

“Uhm—” Kihyun starts, looking around them with an awkward smile on his face. 

“Okay, I know we’re not forty yet and I know we’ve only been dating for two years, but I love you more than anything else in the world and I want us to get married.” Hoseok blurts it all out in one breath and goes dizzy immediately.

His heart is beating crazy fast, his palms already sweaty and disgustingly clammy around Kihyun’s hand and his face is probably purple, but it doesn’t matter because Kihyun is just standing there, not saying a thing.

“Hoseok,” Kihyun whispers almost inaudibly, blinks a few times, eyes a little glossy.

“It’s a real proposal this time, so—” Hoseok takes a deep breath to steady himself, lets it out slowly before he finishes the sentence. “Will you marry me?”

Every second he waits for Kihyun to give him an answer or say something, anything, feels like torture, eating him up from the inside. Suddenly, he remembers that he forgot to take out the ring, because that’s how proposals are supposed to go, right?

He lets go of Kihyun’s hand to fumble through his pockets for the ring and smiles in triumph when he takes it out, holding it out for Kihyun to take. “You said you would only marry me if I had a ring.” He explains when Kihyun’s eyes widen to comical proportions, mouth hanging open.

“You are proposing to me for real with a ring made out of candy?” Kihyun finally speaks up, and his voice is shaky, a little high-pitched, and yeah, Hoseok is so getting dumped tonight.

“Like when we were kids, remember?” Hoseok smiles, tries to stop himself from bursting into tears because this is not going well so far. Maybe he should’ve waited longer before popping the question because now he’s really going to die alone. He just hopes Kihyun would take pity on him and let him take custody of their cat. 

Moments pass and still nothing. Hoseok is about to get up and run away when Kihyun grabs him by the wrist and pulls him in, cups Hoseok’s face in his small hands and kisses him hard enough to make him stumble a few steps backwards.

Relief washes over him like never before when Kihyun starts repeating yes over and over again in between kisses, his entire body trembling in Hoseok’s hold like a leaf. The bag Kihyun’s been holding in his hand all along falls to the ground, probably breaking the eggs and the jar of tomato sauce, but fuck that, Hoseok thinks. Kihyun agreed to marry him.

“You are a jerk, you know that?” Hoseok chuckles when Kihyun pulls back. “I really thought you were gonna laugh in my face and leave me standing here like an idiot.”

“I was in shock!” Kihyun exclaims loudly. “You’ve been acting so weird lately that I seriously thought you were about to break up with me. I wasn’t expecting _this_!”

“Proposing isn’t as easy as it seems, okay?” Hoseok argues, taking Kihyun’s hand in his again so he could slip the ring on Kihyun’s finger and make this official before he has a change of heart and makes a run for it. And Hoseok has been too busy thinking about how and when to propose, that he forgot to test the ring out on his own hand because it doesn’t fit on any of Kihyun’s fingers. “Shit, this is too small.” 

“Well, it is a product made for children, after all.” Kihyun points out, intertwining his fingers with Hoseok’s once the ring is finally on. “But it’s a nice touch. I never knew you could be so romantic.”

“Me?” Hoseok points at himself, pretending to be offended before he pulls Kihyun in for another kiss. “Baby, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Kihyun cringes at that as he bends down to pick up their abandoned groceries. “Hey, does this mean I don’t get a ring?”

Hoseok laughs incredulously, throwing an arm over Kihyun’s shoulders as they start walking towards their car. “You get two rings. I just forgot the real one at home.”

“So can I eat this one?” Kihyun asks.

Hoseok only laughs again and gives Kihyun one more kiss before they enter the car. “Anything you want, love.”


End file.
